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Watchdog Watch

‘No Taxpayer Dollars’ for coaches at the University of Illinois? It’s a lie

By Jay Rosenstein, University of Illinois professor of Media and Cinema Studies | December 27, 2017

While taxpayer money doesn’t technically go to pay the coaches’ actual salary lines, taxpayer money does pay for the salary packages for most every UI coach, trainer, and full-time athletic department staff member. That’s because UI athletic department employees are UI employees, so they receive the same “standard university benefits” as all other UI employees.

And benefits for UI employees – health, dental, etc. – are paid for by the state of Illinois. In other words, the taxpayers.

Climate Change and Agribusiness

Lagging crop conditions could be preview of future Illinois climate

By Johnathan Hettinger/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | June 20, 2017

The weather that led to the below-average conditions could be a preview of future climate conditions, according to a new study from the University of Illinois.

GMOs

From yield protection to yield boosting: GMO crops of the future

By Johnathan Hettinger | February 27, 2017

Since 2000, the percentage of genetically engineered corn planted in the United States has grown from 25 percent to 92 percent in 2016. But unless yields increase significantly, experts say the world will not be able to grow enough food to feed itself by 2050, with food shortages anticipated as soon as 2030.

Energy

University of Illinois to begin purchasing wind energy

By Johnathan Hettinger/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | December 9, 2016

The new 10-year agreement, announced by the UI this week, will supply the Urbana campus with 25,000 MWh of energy, about 8.6 percent of the total generation from the Rail Splitter Wind Farm.

Energy

Study: Enhanced photosynthesis increases yield up to 20 percent

By Johnathan Hettinger | November 17, 2016

A solution to world hunger may come through increasing the efficiency of one of nature’s most basic functions: photosynthesis.

Climate Change and Agribusiness

Study: Climate change likely to lead to decreased soybean yields

By Johnathan Hettinger | September 21, 2016

The negative effects of climate change on Illinois soybean farmers will likely be greater and come sooner than originally thought, new research at the University of Illinois has found.

Climate Change and Agribusiness

From market disruption to clean energy: ‘Energy 2030’ iSee Conference

By Johnathan Hettinger | September 21, 2016

On Sept. 12, the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and the Environment at the University of Illinois held its annual iSEE Congress at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center. The conference focused on how to improve energy efficiency and renewable energy to meet future energy needs. Here are six takeaways.

Climate Change

Illinois could see effects of climate change as soon as 2020

By Claire Hettinger/For Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | September 1, 2016

July was the hottest month in recorded history. And continued increases in temperature and a shift in rain patterns could mean a 15 percent yield loss in the next five to 25 years and up to a 73 average yield loss by the end of the next century if farming patterns don’t change significantly, University of Illinois finance professors Don Fullerton and Julian Reif laid out in a report released from the Institute of Government and Public Affairs last year.